This invention relates to invalid support belts and more particularly to belts for lifting invalids from beds or wheelchairs.
Incapacitated individuals must, for various reasons, be lifted from time to time for being moved into or out of beds, wheelchairs, or the like. Prior art lifting devices generally comprise bed cranes or leather belts. Once the patient has been lifted to an upright position, other types of belts were often employed in order to aid the patient in walking.
Leather belts or harnesses used for lifting patients were uncomfortable to wear and had a tendency to slide up from the patient's waist area and to twist or torque as the patient was lifted. Such leather belts also could not be worn by the patient in a bath or shower and were difficult to clean. Moreover, prior belts did not retain body heat or support the patient's spinal area.